Cooling device for pneumatic tires.



A. B. CRAIG..

COOLING DEVICE PoR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7, 1911.

Patented J an. 7, 1913.

wbb/wow UNITED "STATES PATENT orrioii.

aNDnEw-Bfcnarof, or trenino, :in :ssciimr:v

. COOLING nEvIcE ron. PNEUMATIC TIRE-s.

for pneumatic tires, and to provide a simple,

efficient and comparatively inexpensive construction, designed `for cooling the pneucapable of maintaining a suiiciently low matic tires .of various kinds of wheels, and

temperature within a pneumatic tire to prei vent the air contained therein from expanding and blowing out, or otherwise injuring' thel tire.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; 1t being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departin from the spirit or sacrificing any of the a vantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure y1l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a wheel havinga pneumatic tire and equipped with a cooling device, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view, illustrating the construction of the rotary pump.

Likenumerals of reference designate correspondingparts in all the figures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a kwheel. having a pneumatic tire 2, consisting of an outer tube or shoe and an inner tube 3, provided at the rim 4 with a circumferential fold or tubular portion 5 for the reception of a-L circumferential cooling tube 6 which is of less diami Specication o! Letters Ifatent.

Application led September 7, 1911. Serial No. 648,288.

Patented Jan. 7,1913.

eter than the pneumatic tire. The outer tube or shoe of the v pneumatic tire is of the clencher type and engages side flanges of the rim, but the pneumatic tire may be mounted on a wheel in any other preferred manner, The tubular circumferential ortion 5 of the inner tube fits around the ,coo ing tube, which is adapted to contain a suitable liquid 7 for maintaining the temperature of the air within the pneumatic tire suiliciently low to prevent the tire vfrom heating and bursting.

The circumferential cooling device may be constructed of rubber, metal, or other suitable material, and it is designed to enable a sufficient quantity of liquid to circulate within the pneumatic tire to maintain avrelvatively low temperature within the saine.

The liquid may consistof salt Water7 or anyA other suitable material, salt water being preferred especially in the warmer seasons of the year, as it is a preservative of rubber, but alcohol or some other liquid, whichwill not freeze in winter under ordinary conditions may be used durin the cold months of the year. The liquid. is introduced into and removed from the cooling tube by means of a short tube 8, piercingthe felly 9 and the rim 4 of the wheel and equipped with a suitable closure 10. The wheel is also equipped with a valve 11 for iiiating the inner tube.

The cooling tube is connected at diametrically opposite points with a radiator 12 by means of branch tubes 13 and 14, preferably equipped with check valves 15 and 16 to prevent back pressure or a rearward'ilow of the liquid.y The branch tubes v13 and 14 pierce the rim and the felly and are suitably connected withl the cooling tube. The radiator 12 is preferably in the form ofa coil,"ar ranged on the outer portion of the hubf17 of the wheel, but any other form of radiator may, of course, be employed. y'The liquid is caused to circulate through the radiator and the branch tubes 13 and 14 by means of a rotary pump and as the radiator is exposed to the air, the liquid circulating through it will be maintained at a suflicient-ly low temperature .to prevent heating ofthe tire.

The rotary pump comprises a casingv '18 and a plurality' of blades 19, mounted on radial arms 20 of a shaft 21, which is jourynaled in suitable bearings of the sides of 'the casing. The casing is provided at diametrically opposite points with inlet and outlet ports 22 and 23 with which the adjacent. portion of the branch tube 13 is connected. The pump, which is located between two of the -spokes 24 of the wheel, is secured to thel same by clips or clamps 25, composed of arms arranged in pairs and located at opposite sides of the adjacent spokes. The arms of the clips 25 extend outwardly from the casing, and the members of each pair are connected at their outer ends by bolts 26, which cause the arms or sides of the clip to firmly engage or embrace the spokes.

The shaft of the rotary pump carries a pinion 27, which meshes with a fixed gear 28, secured to the axle by means of a set screw 29, or other suitable means, and adapted through the rotary movement of the wheel to rotate the pinion 27 and actuate the shaft of the rotary pump. The set screw 29 pierces an extended hub portion 30 of the gear wheel, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the'drawing. Any other form of gearing or motion transmitting means, such as a belt and ulley, may be employed and any other pre erred form of pump may be utilized for producing a circulation of liquid through the radiator and the branch tubes. When the wheel rotates and the pump operates, the liquid is drawn from the cooling tube vof the wheel at one point on the rim, and it is caused to iow through the radiator and the connecting tubes and to reiiter the cooling tube at a diametrically opposite point on the rim. By this construction, the tire may be maintained sufficiently cool to prevent injury to it.

The radiator or cooling coil may be located at any other desired point, and means other than the exposure o the radiator to the atmosphere may be employed for cooling the liquid as it flows through the radiator.

Instead of mounting the pump between the spokes in the manner shown, it may be arranged at any other convenient point.

No claim is made in the present application to the following subject-matter, which is claimed in a copending application filed by me Aug. 13, 1912, Serial No. 714,934: The combination with a wheel having a pneumatic tire, of a cooling device therefor including a circumferential cooling tube of less diameter than and located within the pneumatic tire, a pump mounted on the wheel and connected with the interior of the cooling tube for producing a circulation of a cooling medium through the interior of the cooling tube, said tube con- -.diator coil and the tire, and means for r0- tating the said pump.

2. The combination with a wheel having a pneumatic tire provided with means for receiving a cooling medium, of a radiator coil arranged on and fitting the hub of the wheel and connected with the tire, a pum e an Vmounted on and carried by the whe communicating with the radiatorcoil for ,producing a circulation of a' coolin medium through the same and throng the tire, and means for operating the pump.

3. The combination with a wheel having a pneumatic tire provided with means for.

receiving a cooling medium, of a radiator coil arranged onand iittin the hub at one side of the wheel and carried by the latter and communicating with the tire, a pump mounted on and carried by the wheel and communicating with the radiator coil for producing a circulation of a cooling medium through the same and through the tire, and gearing located at the side of the wheel opposite that at which the radiator coil is arranged and including a fixed gear connected with the axle of the wheel, and a rotary gear connected with the pum and meshing with and revoluble aroun the fixed gear.

4. The combination with a wheel having a pneumatic tire, of a cooling tube located within the pneumatic tire, a radiator coil arranged on and fitting the hub of the wheel, branch tubes connecting the radiator coil with the cooling tube, a pump mounted on and carried by the wheel and connected with one of the branch tubes and arranged between two of the spokes of the wheel and provided with clips for engaging the said spokes, and means connected with the pump for operating the same.

5. The combination with a wheel having a rim, of a circumferential coolin tube mounted on the rim, a tire including an inner tube havin a circumferential fold itted around the sides and the outer portion of the cooling tube and terminating at opposite sides thereof adjacent to the rim2 and an outer tube or shoe covering the inner tube and detachably connected with the rim,

the inner and outer tubes of the tire as my own, I have hereto aiixed my signa,`

dltachallle froll5 tllile withot removing ture 1n the presenceof two witnesses. t e coo ng tu t ere om an means arranged exteriorly of the tii'e for causing a B' CRAIG' 5 circulation 'of a cooling medium through the Witnesses: v

cooling tube. j JOHN H. SIGGERS,

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing FRANCES PnY'roN SMITH. 

